THE BUILDING OF PROTESTANT ENGLAND
Government, permitted what followed. On April 4, 1581,
Drake, whose name now stood for the greatest of the piratical
attacks against Spain and Spanish commerce in the New World,
was knighted, and it was Anjou's agent in England, Marchemont,
who gave him the accolade, Elizabeth handing him the sword.
Even so peace was maintained between Spain and England,
though the insult had been public and very grave; but after the
assassination of William of Orange in 1584 Cecil thought the
time was ripe to make the quarrel irremediable. With a show
of reluctance he now supported the Dutch rebels, and Leicester
was sent over with an English force which contained many Irish
soldiers.
Leicester failed, as might have been expected, for he had no
military talents and he offended his allies by his arrogance. The
expedition is only memorable for the death of Sir Philip Sidney,
the poet, Walsingham's son-in-law, and, oddly enough, the
godson of Philip of Spain, from whom he had received his name.
One of his last acts was to implore his father-in-law, who was
already weary of paying his debts, to give him the confiscated
lands of a Catholic conspirator. Of more significance, however,
than the death of this excellent poet (Leicester's nephew) was
the action of two of the English commanders, Stanley and York,
which throws a vivid light on the nature of the time. Their
conscience would not tolerate the support of rebels against a
lawful sovereign (a sentiment in which Elizabeth concurred, for
rebellion against a crowned head was odious to her), and the
Calvinist against the Catholic cause. One of them—York—
handed over Zutphen to the forces of its rightful sovereign. It
was in front of this town that Sidney was killed. The incident
clearly shows the difficulty, even at tins late date, of CeciTs cause,
and the remaining strong tradition of Catholicism in England.
The Killing of Mary Stuart. Meanwhile the most
momentous of all Cecil's later resolutions had been taken: the
efforts at getting Mary Queen of Scots assassinated by the rebels
of her own country having failed, it was determined to put her
to death upon some charge which could be publicly defended.
But this was not easy to find. Mary was a sovereign, a
crowned head, and by all the most profound feelings of the time,
which had the strength of a religion, was immune from trial by
subjects, and the more immune from trial by the subjects of
a foreign Power. After solemn promises of succour and support
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